Richard Lodge column: Casinos by the numbers

Thursday

Keep an eye on southeastern Massachusetts this Saturday if you want a glimpse of our state's future.

Keep an eye on southeastern Massachusetts this Saturday if you want a glimpse of our state's future.

An estimated 15,000 registered voters might turn out for an unprecedented town meeting in Middleborough to vote on whether to approve a deal for a casino proposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

As anyone who doesn't have his or her face glued to a scratch ticket knows, this would be the first big step in the long process to bring a casino to Massachusetts. So instead of the dollars flowing out of the Bay State on charter buses heading to southeastern Connecticut, a fair chunk of that change would go to Middleborough, more to the state and much, much more to the tribe itself.

State Treasurer Tim Cahill was the latest to jump into this debate over a casino in Middleborough. On Wednesday Cahill said the Wampanoags are offering chump change to the town - $11 million the first year the casino is up and running. Those analyzing the deal say the casino stands to take in $1 billion - with a ``B'' - per year, so $11 million would be like the quarters that roll behind the slot machines, the ones found by the cleaning crew.

A look at Connecticut's two casinos, Mohegan Sun, which opened in 1996, and Foxwoods, which opened in 1992, provides insight into what kind of money we're talking with successful casinos.

Mohegan Sun took in $1.45 billion in fiscal 2005 from slot machines, stage shows, food, sporting events - the works. Of that amount, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority paid $500,000 to the town of Montville that year ``to minimize the impact on the town'' of the massive casino operation, according to the authority's 2005 annual report. More striking is the fact that Foxwoods pays nothing - zero - each year to its host communities of North Stonington, Ledyard and Preston.

A check for half a million isn't the only benefit to Montville, of course, but it's the only check that goes directly to the town. Folks in Middleborough must surely be looking at the Wampanoag's largesse - a proposed $11 million per year - in light of the paltry $500K delivered to Montville, not to mention the deal Foxwoods has with its communities. But those numbers really don't tell the whole story.

Both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods directly employ thousands of workers and the benefit to their hometowns and surrounding communities is substantial.

The 2005 annual report of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority says the Mohegan Sun casino ``paid more than $245 million in salary and wages; spent more than $125 million in other benefits and payroll taxes; contributed over $350,000 to United Way and Community Health Charities'' and kicked almost $213 million to the state of Connecticut that year. The most recent report from the state shows a decline to $210 million that Mohegan Sun paid the state in 2007 - still a substantial sum.

Numbers for Foxwoods are tougher to come by, but the most recent state reports show the casino reported more than $1.57 billion in revenue in 2005 and sent almost $205 million to state coffers. News reports show the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which runs Foxwoods, has been generous with its donations, giving $10 million to support the National Museum of the American Indian; $5 million to the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, and in 1995, $2 million to support the Special Olympics World Games in Connecticut.

An editor I know in Connecticut recently pointed out that Electric Boat was once among the largest employers in southeastern Connecticut. As EB cut more than half its workforce, employment at the two casinos to the north more than took up the slack, with some 20,000 people employed between the two operations. The obvious difference, however, is that $30-per-hour union shipbuilding jobs have been replaced by $10-per-hour non-union casino jobs.

Since everyone in Massachusetts has an interest in weighing the pros and cons of a casino in Middleborough - and the strong possibility of more casinos down the road - a study released in June about the role of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut's economy is relevant.

Indian Country Today, an American Indian news service, reports on its Web site July 10 that the two casinos are ``crucial'' to the state's economy.

``Connecticut's two Indian casinos together contribute more than $422 million annually to the state coffers - a bigger share of state revenue than corporate income tax,'' according to the story by Gale Courey Toensing.

``Absent the casinos, eastern Connecticut would have fallen on economic hard times,'' said Jeff Blodgett, VP of research for the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, which produced the study.

What has been good for eastern Connecticut appears to be good for the state as a whole, Indian Country Today reports.

Tony Sheridan, president of the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, said, ``The casinos' role in and contributions to the economy are significant - including wages paid, purchases from suppliers and vendors, community support and contributions, and annual payments to the state from slot revenues. Needless to say, this industry is of great importance to eastern Connecticut as well as to the entire state.''

Indian Country Today cited Blodgett, who said the casinos accounted for 12 or 13 percent of Connecticut's employment growth over the past 15 years.

Accepting a casino isn't all about numbers, of course. If you're a resident of Middleborough you have to be looking at a huge change in the town's character, and the impact on traffic, schools, public safety

responsibilities and the local employment base. Gambling opponents are pointing to the predictable increase in gambling addiction that will come with any casino.

But the numbers are impossible to ignore, and, like the gambling itself, it really is about the money.

Richard Lodge is editor of the MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, Mass.) and writes a column published Fridays. His e-mail is rlodge@cnc.com.

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